Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock traded down $3.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $256.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,553,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,925. The company has a market capitalization of $58.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $248.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.88.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.